The
Baja 1000 is an
off road race that takes place on Mexico's Baja California Peninsula
during a full moon to aid the racers. The competition was officially
started in 1967 (it had previously been the site of informal dirt bike
racing), and originally went from Tijuana, Baja California, to La Paz,
Baja California Sur. Now it starts from Ensenada, some 70 miles to the
south. It is usually held the weekend before the Thanksgiving holiday is
celebrated in the United States.

From
1967 to 1973 the race was organized by the National Off Road Racing
Association (NORRA); however, in 1974, the government denied NORRA
permission to hold the race, and the fuel crisis of 1974 forced the race
to be removed from the off-road racing schedule.

In
1975, SCORE International, with sponsorship by Tecate beer, resumed the
Baja as a loop course race with the start-finish line in Ensenada, and in
1979, SCORE was able to resume racing on the legendary 1,000 mile course
to La Paz, as they have intermittently raced on the 1,000 every three to
four years.

In
recent years, the race has only been conducted each three or four years,
depending on how Southern California Off-Road Enterprises (SCORE) is able
to arrange for the venues to be scheduled. In years between the Baja 1000
a shorter race called the Baja 500 is held, and follws a loop course which
starts and finishes in Ensenada.

SCORE
International is an Off-road racing organization that sponsors off
road racing in the United States.

2006
Races

SCORE
Laughlin Desert Challenge

SCORE
Las Vegas Terrible's Cup II

SCORE
Las Vegas PRIMM 300

Tecate
SCORE San Felipe 250

Tecate
SCORE Baja 500

Tecate
SCORE Baja 1000

Famous
drivers

Jimmie
Johnson

Robby
Gordon

Ivan
Stewart

Larry
Ragland

Robby
Gordon

Parnelli
Jones

Gunnar
Nilsson

Mickey
Thompson

Walker
Evans

Erik
Carlsson

WHAT
IS OFF ROAD?

The
term off-road refers to a driving surface which is not
conventionally paved. This is a rough surface, often created naturally,
such as sand, gravel, a river, mud, snow and others. These terrains can
sometimes only be traveled on by vehicles designed for off-road driving
(such as heavy-duty trucks and equipment, SUVs, ATVs, snowmobiles or
mountain bicycles) or vehicles that have off-road equipment. Notable
examples of vehicle manufacturers that specialize in off-road vehicles
include Jeep, Hummer, Land Rover, and lifted Ford.

In
some countries, off-road activity may be prohibited in many areas and even
where allowed, may require special permits or licenses.

Vehicle
off road activities have been criticized by those concerned with
environmental damage. The continued use of an area for off road activities
can lead to deforestation, loss of top soil, and silting of local waters.
The off-road community, however, points out that most off-roading is done
responsibly, and that the people who create most of the damage are not
conducting themselves responsibly. They argue that the entire off-road
community should not be labeled by a few irresponsible individuals. Little
can be done about this however, as most see the off-road community as a
single collective entity, which further leads to problems in this area. To
many extents, this argument will continue in similar categories as logging
or urban sprawl debates.

WHAT
IS A BAJA BUG

The
term Baja Bug generally refers to a Volkswagen
Beetle modified to operate on sand dunes and beaches, although other
versions of air-cooled
Volkswagens are sometimes modified as well.

Baja
Bugs originated in Southern
California in the early 1970s as an inexpensive answer to the
successful, Volkswagen-based dune
buggies of the mid-1960s, especially the Meyers
Manx.

Why
the Beetle?

The
Beetle was popular in less-developed areas of the world because of its
rear-mounted air-cooled
engine, flat floorpan, and rugged torsion
bar suspension. In fact, advertising of the period touted the fact
that the Beetle was so watertight that it floated. Those same attributes
made the Beetle the perfect choice for the basis of an off-road vehicle as
evidenced by the car's success both then and now in the Baja
1000 off-road race.

Conversion

Basic
modifications are simple. A lightweight, shortened fiberglass
front body panel is fitted after the sheetmetal from the trunklid edge
forward and rear engine hood rearward is removed. The rear treatment
leaves the engine totally exposed to aid in cooling. A tubular steel cage
front and rear bumper is fitted to the body and floorpan for protection of
engine and occupants. Shortened fiberglass fenders both front and rear
meant removal of the Beetle's distinctive running
boards and the likely addition of more tubular steel parts in their
place, (side bars). The adjustable torsion bar front and rear suspension
standard on the Beetle, allows the ride height to be raised to make
clearance for larger heavy-duty off-road tires and wheels. The taller
sidewall tires provide more flexible ride comfort and rocky road ground
clearance. The Beetle suspension "stops" can be moved to allow
more suspension travel. Longer shock
absorbers for the increase in suspension travel, provide more
dampening control over bumps giving more driver control and comfort.

The
Baja Bug today

Though
Baja Bugs have been greatly supplanted in recent years by tube-framed,
purpose-built buggies known as sand
rails, due to the slowly dwindling supply of suitable donor cars, they
remain a popular choice in desert regions as few beaches in the US are
open to vehicular traffic. Many are fitted with highly modified Volkswagen
engines and a few homebuilt hybrids have Ford
Pinto engine, Chevrolet
Corvair, Porsche
or even Subaru
engines. Customized road-going Baja Bugs remain fairly popular as well.